Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.40 million. Element Solutions had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS.

Element Solutions Price Performance

Shares of ESI opened at $32.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. Element Solutions has a 1 year low of $16.77 and a 1 year high of $33.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.05, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Element Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Element Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Matthew Liebowitz sold 37,000 shares of Element Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $984,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,122,653.80. This trade represents a 23.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Element Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Element Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Element Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Element Solutions by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Element Solutions by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESI. Mizuho dropped their price target on Element Solutions from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Element Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Element Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Element Solutions from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Element Solutions from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Element Solutions Company Profile

Element Solutions Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies highly engineered chemistries to performance-driven end markets. The company’s solutions serve customers across the electronics, energy, transportation, consumer and industrial sectors, with a particular emphasis on electronics chemicals, metal plating, and industrial coatings additives.

In the electronics market, Element Solutions provides a range of plating and surface-treatment chemistries used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, and advanced display technologies.